Chief of Saudi-based Muslim World League and Vatican’s Secretary of State Discuss Confronting Extremism

RIYADH, February 6 (CIC) – The Secretary General of the Saudi-based Muslim World League (MWL) said on Tuesday that the league is committed to the values ​​of dialogue and is keen to communicate with Pope Francis and the Vatican.

During a meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in Rome, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Issa praised the ‘’neutral position’’ of the Catholic Pontiff towards Islam.

“’About 70% of wars throughout history have religious backgrounds … So confronting extremism and counter-extremism is at the forefront of the responsibility of religious leaders’’ Al-Issa said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Cardinal Parolin and Al-Issa reaffirmed their commitment to opening up the dialogue between Islam and Christianity, ‘’which has become necessary in light of the sufferings of many people due to extremist groups that practice violence in the name of religions’’, SPA reported.

The MWL is a Pan-Islamic NGO based in the Holy City of Makkah in Saudi Arabia that propagates Islamic teachings. The League says that it rejects all acts of violence and promotes interreligious dialogue.

In September, Pope Francis received Al-Issa, who is also the President of the International Organization of Muslim Scholars. The two sides reaffirmed that religion and violence are incompatible and that religions have moral resources capable of contributing to fraternity and peace, according to a statement from the Pontifical Council.